Device for sensing a capsule in a beverage production apparatus

ABSTRACT

The invention aims to provide a device sensing a capsule inserted in a receptacle in machine and physical parameters of liquid supplied by a beverage production apparatus flowing through the capsule in function of the type of capsule. The capsule containing beverage ingredient is inserted in a cylindrical or conical wide mouthed receptacle having an upper opening for inserting the capsule and a lower bottom closing the receptacle. The receptacle rotates around an axis of a hollow shaft attached at the center and perpendicularly to the external face of the bottom of the receptacle, said shaft forming a hole at the center of the inner face of the bottom of the receptacle. The device comprises a rod sliding in the shaft and passing through the hole of the inner face of the bottom of the receptacle, said rod being provided with a spring maintaining an end of the rod lifted inside the receptacle in contact with the capsule, the other end being inside the shaft. The device further comprising means for measuring the position of the end of the rod in the shaft, in order to control, in function of the size of the capsule inserted in the receptacle, rotation speed of the receptacle, discharge and physical parameters of liquid supplied by the beverage production apparatus flowing through the capsule.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/811,111, filed Jan. 18, 2013, which is a National Stage ofInternational Application No. PCT/EP2011/061913, filed on Jul. 13, 2011,which claims priority to European Patent Application No. 10170042.5,filed Jul. 19, 2010, the entire contents of which are being incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The invention relates to a sensing device associated to a beverageproduction apparatus for preparing a beverage by use of a capsulecontaining beverage ingredient.

Technical Background

The preparation of a beverage by a capsule containing beverageingredient is known. In general, the capsule is inserted in a beverageproduction device, such as a coffee machine, liquid is fed in thecapsule and a beverage is extracted from the capsule under pressure orby gravity.

The preparation of a beverage by using the centrifugation is known. Theprinciple mainly consists in providing a beverage ingredient in acontainer of the capsule, feeding liquid in the receptacle and rotatingthe receptacle at elevated speed to ensure interaction of liquid withpowder while creating a gradient of pressure of liquid in thereceptacle; such pressure increasing gradually from the centre towardsthe periphery of the receptacle. As liquid traverses the coffee bed,extraction of the coffee compounds takes place and a liquid extract isobtained that flows out at the periphery of the receptacle.

The term “capsule” refers to any flexible, rigid or semi-rigid containercontaining beverage ingredient. Other synonymous to a capsule are:“pod”, “pad”, “cartridge” or “sachet”. The capsule can be single use.The container can also be filled with ingredient by the user to form thecapsule just before use.

The term ingredient means any suitable beverage substance such as groundcoffee, soluble coffee, leaf tea, soluble tea, herbal tea, dairy powder,culinary powder, baby food and combination thereof.

It exists systems for identifying a capsule in a beverage productiondevice using mechanical, optical or magnetic sensors. However, ingeneral, these systems require a specific marker on the capsule such asmechanical indicia, a barcode or magnetic label to enabledifferentiating one capsule from another. Providing such marker leads totechnical constraints on the capsule and is costly. Furthermore, certainmarkers on the capsule are sensitive to the steam or liquid environmentthat surrounds the capsule. Therefore, a reliable reading of the markeris not always assured. WO2010/026053 relates to a controlled beverageproduction device using centrifugal forces. The capsule may comprise abarcode provided on an outside face of the capsule and which enables adetection of the type of capsule and/or the nature of ingredientsprovided within the capsule in order to apply a predefined extractionprofile for the beverage to be prepared.

SUMMARY

The aim of the invention is to provide a device for sensing a capsuleinserted in a receptacle in a simpler and more effective manner in orderto reliably control operational brewing parameters such as the dischargeand physical parameters of liquid supplied in the beverage productionapparatus. In particular, the invention requires using no particulartraditional markers or indicia on the capsule such as a typical barcode,magnetic tag or other recognition means thereby making the capsule muchmore economical and preventing the risk of malfunctioning in the brewingconditions.

This aim is achieved by a device for sensing a capsule in a beverageproduction apparatus, comprising a receptacle for receiving said capsulecontaining beverage ingredient, said receptacle having an upper openingfor inserting the capsule and a bottom, the device is characterized inthat it comprises at least one means for sensing the relative positionof an external surface of the capsule in the receptacle; said positionbeing representative of the size of the receptacle when the capsule isarranged in the receptacle and means for providing a code which isrelated to the sensed relative position of said surface.

In general, the sensing means preferably comprise a retractable sensingplunger arranged to sense the position of the bottom of the capsule.

The means for providing a code preferably comprise an optical measuringmeans or a magnetic sensor for determining the relative position of thesensing means and providing a binary code.

In the preferred mode, the receptacle is arranged to rotate around anaxis perpendicular to the bottom of the receptacle.

The sensing device provides a code to the beverage production apparatusthat may be used to control the operational brewing parameters of thebeverage production apparatus.

The operational parameters may comprise the rotation speed of thereceptacle and/or the discharge and physical parameters of liquidsupplied in the capsule and flowing therethrough. Such discharge andphysical parameters may include the flow rate, the volume, the heatingtemperature of the supplied liquid and combinations thereof.

More particularly, the sensing means comprises a rod sliding along ashaft coaxial to the rotation axis and passing through a hole of theinner face of the bottom of the receptacle, said rod being provided witha spring maintaining an end of the rod lifted inside the receptacle,said device further comprising means for measuring the position of theend of the rod sliding along the shaft.

According to a configuration of the device, the shaft is attached to thereceptacle perpendicularly at the center of the bottom external face.The rod may be divided in several parts passing each through a hole nearthe center of the receptacle. After traversing the hole, each part ofthe rod slides outside along the shaft in function of the size of thecapsule inserted in the receptacle. The position of the end of each partalong the shaft is determined by the measuring means. This configurationcould present a drawback regarding water tightness between the interiorand the exterior of the receptacle because of possible leakage of liquidthrough the holes where the parts of the rod are passing.

To overcome this possible drawback and to make easier the manufacturingprocess, a preferred configuration comprises a receptacle rotatingaround an axis of a cylindrical hollow shaft attached at the center andperpendicularly to the external face of the bottom of the receptacle.The shaft forms a hole at the center of the inner face of the bottom ofthe receptacle. The device comprises a rod sliding in the shaft andpassing through the hole of the inner face of the bottom of thereceptacle. The rod is provided with a spring maintaining an end of therod lifted inside the receptacle in contact with the capsule, the otherend slides inside the shaft at positions depending on the size of thecapsule. This solution including a rod in one part sliding inside theshaft instead of outside the shaft is thus better adapted for renderingthe receptacle watertight with one packing gland only around the rodbelow the hole of the receptacle.

The capsules are available in different sizes depending on their contentand the type of beverage to be produced. The position of the ends of therod varies with the size of the capsule inserted in the receptacle. Alarge capsule occupying almost the whole volume of the receptacle willpush the rod towards the bottom of the receptacle while the position ofthe end in the shaft is the most distant from the bottom of thereceptacle. Contrarily, a small capsule pushes the rod on a shortdistance in the shaft so that the end is closer to the bottom of thereceptacle.

When the receptacle is empty, the rod has a neutral position where theend of the rod inside the receptacle is lifted at the highest positionclose to the upper opening. The other end of the rod sliding in theshaft is then close to the bottom of the receptacle. The springmaintaining the rod lifted is therefore entirely released.

The position of the end of the rod in the shaft is measured by opticalor magnetic means having no electrical contact with the rod whichrotates together with the receptacle once the capsule is insertedtherein to start the apparatus producing beverage.

In another possible embodiment, the means for providing a code relatedto the sensed relative position of said surface, comprises apotentiometer for measuring variable resistances as a function of therelative position of the rod.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be better understood thanks to the following detaileddescription which refers to the enclosed drawings given as nonlimitative examples.

FIG. 1 shows a receptacle containing a large size capsule where the rodof the device for sensing the capsule is at the lowest position insidethe receptacle.

FIG. 2 shows a receptacle containing a medium size capsule where the rodof the device for sensing the capsule is at a median position inside thereceptacle.

FIG. 3 shows a receptacle containing a small size capsule where the rodof the device for sensing the capsule is at a high position inside thereceptacle.

FIG. 4 shows an empty receptacle where the rod of the device for sensingthe capsule is at a neutral position inside the receptacle.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic view of optical sensing means based onreflection/absorption of a light beam on a member of the rod passingthrough a slot in the shaft.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic view of optical sensing means based on lightbarriers where light beams are interrupted or not by a member of therod.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic view of optical sensing means based onreflection/absorption of a light beam by the rod through a transparentportion of the shaft.

FIG. 8 shows a schematic view of magnetic sensing means based on reedrelays which are switched on or off by a permanent magnet attached onthe end of the rod sliding in the shaft.

FIG. 9 shows an embodiment of the device where the rod slides over theshaft which is not attached to the receptacle, the optical sensing meansbeing based on reflection/absorption of a light beam on the rod and onthe shaft.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The FIGS. 1 to 4 illustrate an example of a capsule receptacle 1 whichmay be used in a beverage preparation system as described inWO2010/026053. The device for sensing the capsule 2 of the invention isspecially designed to be adapted to a rotary receptacle 1 exertingcentrifugal forces on ingredient inside the capsule 2.

The receptacle 1 forms in general a cylindrical or conical wide shapedcavity provided with an upper opening for inserting the capsule 2 and alower bottom closing the receptacle. The opening has a diameter slightlylarger than the one of the body of the capsule 2. The outline of theopening fits to the outline of a rim of the capsule configured to leanon the edge of the opening when the capsule 2 is inserted. The lowerbottom is provided with a cylindrical hollow shaft 3 attachedperpendicularly to the center of the external face of the bottom. Thereceptacle 1 rotates around the central axis R of the hollow shaft 3.The inner face of the bottom of the receptacle includes a hole at itscenter communicating with the interior of the shaft 3.

The mechanical part of the sensing device of the invention comprises arod 4 passing through the hole at the center of the receptacle 1 andsliding in the shaft 3. The rod 4 is maintained lifted inside thereceptacle 1 thanks to a spring 8 arranged between a fixed point in theshaft 3 and the end of the rod 4 appearing in the receptacle 1.Depending on the size of the capsule, the rod 4 is more or less pushedinto the shaft 3 and the spring 8 more or less compressed by the bottomof the capsule 2 when inserted in place in the receptacle.

When capsule 2 is not in arranged in the receptacle 1, the rod 4 is at aneutral position i.e. the spring 8 is entirely released without anyforce pushing the rod 4. The position of the end of the rod in the shaft3 is thus close to the bottom of the receptacle 1 while the other end isclose to the opening.

The arrangement of the capsule in the receptacle requires that apressure is exerted onto the capsule which is obtained in particular byphysically applying a liquid feed assembly (not shown) of the brewingapparatus against the upper surface of the capsule such as described inWO2010/026053. The liquid feed assembly comprises a surface that appliesa certain closure pressure onto the upper surface of the capsule. As aresult, the capsule 2 pushes the rod 4 so that the rim of the capsule 2leans on the whole outline of the upper edge of the receptacle 1.

FIGS. 1 to 4 illustrate an example of a mechanical realization of therod 4 associated to some mechanical elements enabling its motionaccording to the size of the capsule in the receptacle 1.

The rod 4 is formed by a piece of metallic or plastic tube sliding on acore piece 5 fixed with the shaft 3 of the receptacle 1. The diameter ofthe core piece 5 is determined so that the tube can slide freely insidethe shaft 3 between the internal wall of the shaft 3 and the externalsurface of the core piece 5. The first end of the tube which is situatedinside the receptacle is closed by a free end 10 which external faceenters in contact with the bottom of the capsule when inserted in thereceptacle. The second end of the tube is provided with at least onemember 6 traversing a slot 7 made in the shaft 3. For balance reasonswhen rotating, the second end of the tube is provided with at minimumtwo symmetrically arranged members 6 and the shaft 3 includescorresponding slots 7 also symmetrically arranged around the externalsurface of the shaft 3.

For reasons linked to the manufacturing process facility and costs,mechanical components such as the shaft, the rod, the core piece, thespring are preferably made on a cylindrical based shape.

The main role of the member 6 is to make visible from outside, by themeasuring means, the position of the end of the rod 4 according to thesize or to the presence of the capsule 2 in the receptacle 1. Anotherrole is to prevent the disengagement of the rod 4 out of the shaft 3when pulled from the receptacle 1. The member 6 abuts against the upperedge of the slot 7 when the rod 4 is at the highest position with thespring 8 released.

The spring 8 is arranged inside the tube between the free end 10 and theend of the core piece 5 inside the shaft 3, the core piece 5 being thefixed support point of the spring 8. The other end of the core piece 5closes the end of the shaft 3 and forms a coupling piece 9 for attachinga shaft (not illustrated) of a motor enabling the rotation of thereceptacle 1.

It has to be noted that each mechanical component of the capsule sensingdevice may be either made up individually of metal or plastic material,i.e. for example when the core piece is metallic, the tube of the rodmay be in plastic material or vice versa.

The measuring means 11 of the position of the rod 4 are based on opticalreading or magnetic sensing of the end of the rod 4 sliding in the shaft3:

Optical Measuring Means:

The position of the end of the rod 3 is read by an optical sensor 12acting on the member(s) 6 traversing the slot(s) 7 of the shaft 3. Alight beam 13 is projected towards the member(s) 6 with light sources 14positioned at different heights along the shaft 3. The visible externalparts of the members 6 are provided with surfaces on which the lightbeam 13 is reflected towards cells of a light sensor 15 which providesan electrical signal when receiving a reflected light beam. For eachposition of the rod 4 given by a small, medium, or a large capsule 2corresponds an optical sensor 12 comprising a light source 14 and alight sensor 15.

The optical sensor 12 consists of a light source 14 with or withoutfocusing optic and a light sensor 15 with or without focusing optic. Thelight source 14 emits either incoherent or coherent (laser) light. Thelight spectrum may be any, but preferably selected in the infra redband.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic view of optical sensors 12 positioned for thethree sizes of capsules 2 illustrated by FIGS. 1 to 3. The light beam 13emitted by a light source 14 of an optical sensor 12 is either reflectedon the external surface of the member 6 traversing the slot 7 orabsorbed by the external surface of the rod 4 or by the external surfaceof the core piece 5 inside the shaft 3. The corresponding light sensor15 provides a binary bit “0” or “1” in respect of reflection orabsorption of the light beam 13.

The surfaces entering in contact with light beams are treated in byappropriate material for absorbing or reflecting light in the mostoptimal conditions. According to the example of FIG. 5, a medium sizecapsule provides binary code “010”, a large size provides “001” and asmall size provides “100”. When the capsule 2 is not inserted in thereceptacle 1, the member 6 of the rod 4 is at the highest position outof the space monitored by the sensors 12. The light beams 13 are thusall absorbed by the core piece 5 inside the shaft so that the sensors 15provide binary code “000”. The bits of the code may also be inverted ina configuration of the sensors 15 where a reflection provides bit “0”while absorption provides bit “1”.

This binary code is transmitted to a control device of the beverageproduction apparatus managing machine parameters by taking in accountthe size of the capsules. These parameters are for example the quantityof water, the water temperature, pressure, flow rate of water supplied,and also the rotating speed of the receptacle, etc.

According to an embodiment shown by FIG. 6, the optical reading of theposition of the rod 4 may be based on light barriers principle where alight source 14 is placed facing a light sensor 15. For the three sizesof capsules, three pairs of light source and light sensor are required.The light sources 14 facing the light sensors 15 are placed at thelevels corresponding to the positions of the member 6 in the vicinity ofthe shaft 3. The geometry of the member 6 as well as the location of thelight sensors 15 and the light sources 14 in the vicinity of the shaft 3are adapted to interrupt or not the light beam 13 in function of thesize of the capsule 2 depending on the position of the rod 3.

The FIG. 6 shows an example with a position of the rod 3 given by amedium size capsule. In this case the light beam 13 illuminates thelowest and the highest light sensor 15 while the sensor at theintermediate position is occulted by the member 6 of the rod 3. A mediumsize capsule 2 provides thus binary code “101”, a large size providescode “110” and a small size provides code “011”. When the capsule 2 isremoved from the receptacle 1, the rod 3 is at its highest position sothat all sensors 15 are illuminated by their respective light beams 13,providing thus code “111”. As in the preceding embodiment, the bits ofthe code may be inversed so that an illuminated sensor 15 provides bit“0” while an occulted one provides bit “1”.

According to a further embodiment shown on FIG. 7, a portion of theshaft 3 may be made up of transparent plastic material to make visibleto an optical sensor 12 the end of the rod 4 sliding inside the shaft 3.Slots for passing members of the rod are therefore no more necessary inthe shaft. They are then replaced by abutments 17 on the inner wall ofthe shaft 3 configured for preventing disengagement of the rod 4. Theabutments 17 are placed at a distance from the end of the core piece 5closing the shaft 3 determined by the highest position of the rod 4,i.e. the position of the rod 4 when the capsule 2 is removed from thereceptacle 1. The member 6 at the end of the rod 7 sliding in the shaft3 is thus dimensioned according to the shape and dimensions of theabutments 17 inside the shaft 3.

In a configuration example, the core piece 5 is coated with a dark lightabsorbing color and the tube of the rod 4 coated in a light reflectivecolor or vice versa to provide suitable contrast for reading theposition of the rod 4 through the transparent wall of the shaft 3. Inanother embodiment the coating of the rod 4 may cover only an end partof the rod 4 while the remaining part is coated with dark color. Forboth configurations, the position of the rod 4 is read by opticalsensors 12 similar to the ones used in the embodiment of FIG. 5. Thelight sources 14 and the light sensors 15 are therefore placed in thevicinity of the transparent portion of the shaft 3.

In the example of FIG. 7, the rod 4 is entirely light reflective and thecore piece 5 light absorbent. A medium size capsule 2 provides binarycode “110”, a large size provides code “111” and a small size providescode “100”. When the capsule 2 is removed code “000” is provided becausethe position of the rod 4 is out of the space monitored by the opticalsensors 12. The light beams 13 are therefore all absorbed by the corepiece 5. As in the preceding embodiments, the bits of the code may beinverted in a configuration of the sensor where a reflection providesbit “0” while absorption provides bit “1”.

In a further embodiment, the transparent portion of the shaft 3 may bereplaced by one or a plurality of slots configured to render visible, bythe optical sensor 12, the end of the rod 4 sliding in the shaft 3.

In a further embodiment illustrated by FIG. 9, the shaft 3 is notattached to the receptacle 1 which rotation is enabled by the rod 4driven by the shaft 3 via the coupling piece 9 which is attached to ashaft of a motor.

The rod 4 made up of a tube traverses the receptacle 1 through a hole atthe center of the bottom of the receptacle 1 and slides over the shaft 3coaxial to the rod 4 and to the rotation axis R.

The shape of the hole as well as the shape of the section of the rod 4traversing the hole may be oval or any other shape suitable to drive therotation of the receptacle 1 around the axis R. The water tightnessbetween the exterior and the interior of the receptacle 1 is providedwith a joint 22 such as an O-ring having an outline corresponding to theone of the hole. The spring 8 maintaining the end of the rod 4 insidethe receptacle is located between the end of the shaft 3 and the freeend 10 of the rod 4. The coupling between the shaft 3 and the rod 4 ismade up of at least one pin 21 sliding in a groove 20 on the inner wallof the rod 4. The length of the groove 20 is determined by the distancecovered by the rod 4 between its highest position in absence of acapsule in the receptacle and its lowest position reached when themaximal size of capsule is inserted in the receptacle 1. The lower endof the groove 20 provides an abutment preventing the disengagement ofthe shaft 3 from the rod 4 by pulling it from the receptacle 1. Forreasons related to balance when rotating, two or more pins 21 withcorresponding grooves 20 in the rod 4 are symmetrically distributedaround the shaft 3 respectively in the rod 4.

FIG. 9 shows an example where the rod 4 is at its highest position andthe spring 8 is entirely released in absence of a capsule in thereceptacle 1. The position of the end of the rod 4 is read by opticalsensors 11 as in the embodiments of FIG. 5 or FIG. 7. The contrastbetween the shaft 3 and the rod 4 may be improved by an appropriatecoating, i.e. the rod 4 is coated with light reflective material whilethe shaft 3 is coated with light absorbent material or vice-versa.

In a further embodiment the optical sensors are replaced by a magneticsensor using a permanent magnet controlling switches sealed in smallwatertight glass tubes (reed relays).

The magnetic sensors consist of reed relay switches 19 arranged atpositions along the shaft 3 corresponding to the different capsulesizes. The switches 19 are operated by the permanent magnet 18 attachedto the end of the rod 4 sliding in the shaft 3 in respect to the size ofthe capsule 2 inserted in the receptacle 1 or the absence of capsule.

As shown by FIG. 8, a permanent magnet 18 is arranged on the end of therod 4 sliding in the shaft 3. The magnet 18 may be configured in form ofan end piece or a ring surrounding the end of the rod 4. This magnet 18may also be used as member to enter in contact with abutments 17 on theinner wall of the shaft 3 configured for preventing disengagement of therod 4. As in the embodiment with the transparent shaft of FIG. 7, noslots in the shaft are necessary because the magnetic field traversesnon-magnetic materials without being absorbed or deviated. Therefore, inthis embodiment, the tube of the rod 4, the shaft 3 and the core piece 5have to be made in non-magnetic material such as aluminum, brass orplastic material.

The magnetic field of the permanent magnet traverses the shaft 3 andopens or closes the reed relay switches 19. These switches 19 are placedin an electric circuit connected to the control device of the apparatusand configured to provide a binary code in respect of the position ofthe magnet 18 at the end of the rod 4 sliding inside the shaft 3.

In the example of FIG. 8, the medium size capsule positions the magnet18 facing the intermediate switch 19 that is closed by the action of themagnetic field. The upper and the lower switch 19 remain open.

A medium size capsule 2 provides code “010”, a large size provides code“001” and a small size provides code “100”. When the capsule 2 isremoved code “000” is provided because the position of the magnet 18 isbeyond the highest switch 19 which is then open as the two lower ones.The bits of the code may also be inverted in a configuration of themagnetic sensor where a closed switch provides bit “0” while an openswitch provides bit “1”.

An advantage of this embodiment, in addition to simplicity, is that theelectric consumption is reduced relative to the embodiments with opticalsensors requiring electrical power supply for the light source and thelight sensors.

Although the device has been more particularly described in relation toa beverage production device using centrifugation for extracting liquidfrom the capsule, it can be part of a beverage production device usingpressure by a separate pump or gravity for extracting liquid and inwhich the receptacle is not rotated around an axis perpendicular to thecenter of the bottom of the receptacle.

1. A device for sensing a capsule containing a beverage ingredient in abeverage production apparatus, the device comprising: a receptacleconfigured to receive the capsule; a sensing member configured to sensethe presence of different sizes of capsules in the receptacle; and acoding member configured to provide different codes that each correspondto one of the different sizes of capsules sensed by the sensing member.2. The device of claim 1, wherein the sensing member is configured tosense the presence of different sizes of capsules in the receptaclebased on a position of an external surface of the capsule relative tothe receptacle.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein the sensing member isconfigured to sense the presence of at least three different sizes, andthe coding member is configured to provide at least three differentcodes, each of the at least three different codes corresponding to oneof the at least three different sizes.
 4. The device of claim 1, whereinthe sensing member comprises a movable component configured to movebetween positions that correspond to the different sizes of the capsule,and the movable component is positioned at least partially within thereceptacle in at least one of the positions.
 5. The device of claim 4,wherein the coding member provides the different codes based on adistance that the movable component extends into the receptacle.
 6. Thedevice of claim 4, wherein the movable component is positioned at leastpartially within a shaft that rotates the receptacle.
 7. The device ofclaim 6, wherein the sensing member comprises magnetic sensors arrangedalong the shaft, and the coding member provides the different codesbased on opening and closing of switches in the magnetic sensors.
 8. Thedevice of claim 4, wherein the movable component slides on a centralaxis of the receptacle, and the sensing member comprises an opticalsensor comprising a light source that emits a light beam toward thecentral axis.
 9. The device of claim 8, wherein the optical sensorcomprises light sensors, and the coding member provides the differentcodes based on the light sensors activated by the light beam.
 10. Abeverage production apparatus comprising a device for sensing a capsulecontaining a beverage ingredient in the beverage production apparatus,the device comprising: a receptacle configured to receive the capsule; asensing member configured to sense the presence of different sizes ofcapsules in the receptacle; and a coding member configured to providedifferent codes that each correspond to one of the different sizes ofcapsules sensed by the sensing member.
 11. The beverage productionapparatus of claim 10, wherein the sensing member is configured to sensethe presence of different sizes of capsules in the receptacle based on aposition of an external surface of the capsule relative to thereceptacle.
 12. The beverage production apparatus of claim 10, whereinthe sensing member is configured to sense the presence of at least threedifferent sizes, and the coding member is configured to provide at leastthree different codes, each of the at least three different codescorresponding to one of the at least three different sizes.
 13. Thebeverage production apparatus of claim 10, configured to implementoperational parameters identified by the different codes.
 14. Thebeverage production apparatus of claim 13, wherein the operationalparameters are selected from the group consisting of a rotational speedof the receptacle, a parameter of a liquid supplied to the capsule, andcombinations thereof.
 15. The beverage production apparatus of claim 14,wherein the parameter of a liquid supplied to the capsule is selectedfrom the group consisting of a flow rate of the liquid, a volume of theliquid, a heating temperature of the liquid, and combinations thereof.16. The beverage production apparatus of claim 10, wherein the sensingmember comprises a movable component configured to move betweenpositions that correspond to the different sizes of the capsule, and themovable component is positioned at least partially within the receptaclein at least one of the positions.
 17. The beverage production apparatusof claim 16, wherein the coding member provides the different codesbased on a distance that the movable component of the sensing memberextends into the receptacle.
 18. The beverage production apparatus ofclaim 16, wherein the sensing member comprises magnetic sensors, and thecoding member provides the different codes based on opening and closingof switches in the magnetic sensors by the movable component.
 19. Thebeverage production apparatus of claim 16, wherein the movable componentis at least partially positioned on a central axis of the receptacle,and the sensing member comprises an optical sensor comprising a lightsource that emits a light beam toward the central axis.
 20. The beverageproduction apparatus of claim 19, wherein the optical sensor compriseslight sensors, and the coding member provides the different codes basedon the light sensors blocked or unblocked by the movable component.